Kirk Pinho

Senior reporter covering commercial real estate for Crain's Detroit Business.

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

ICYMI: Bloomfield natives bring $800M coworking firm to Birmingham building once slated for Dykema https://t.co/URn3rO55hR

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Bloomfield natives bring $800M coworking firm to Birmingham building once slated for Dykema https://t.co/URn3rO55hR

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Dan Gilbert’s RenCen nonprofit news comes at a crucial time for the project https://t.co/9fXJWDL7AD

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Walbridge seals deal to remain downtown and expand into a much larger office https://t.co/P1a8C0j5aD

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Prestigious Detroit high school buys part of former Michigan state fairgrounds https://t.co/m3gQvbJkBY

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Walbridge gets $1.3M parking subsidy to keep its HQ in downtown Detroit https://t.co/tqF3R1Kk0y

[Crain's Detroit Business @crainsdetroit]

Sprouts Farmers Market expanding into Michigan with Macomb County store https://t.co/hokoeU4Fzs

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Bedrock, GM hope for RenCen incentive approvals by the end of 2026 https://t.co/2lcLbPG3Ik

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Struggling metro Detroit mall goes up for sale https://t.co/mY8LX871tn

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Development site near the Dequindre Cut goes up for sale https://t.co/tzdsIIXmT7

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Feds list Romulus warehouse for sale after scrapping plans for ICE detention center https://t.co/XKlo57vodH

[Crain's Detroit Business @crainsdetroit]

Team behind Grey Ghost is adding another Little Ghost burger location https://t.co/UH00rQPgAp

[Jason Miller @jasonmiller15]

Ever wonder what happened to the ~3,000 U.S. Kmart stores that closed over the past few decades?

The short answer:

Most have been re-tenanted, repurposed or redeveloped

Some for expected (and familiar) retail uses

And others for adaptive reuse

From 1962-2002 Kmart developed ~3,000 stores in markets large and small across the U.S.

Mostly to enter and expand in new markets as well as to replace or relocate its own older, smaller stores

But since 2002 Kmart filed for bankruptcy (twice), closed thousands of stores, was acquired by Sears and transferred much of its real estate to the newly formed Seritage Growth Properties REIT

Today there is a single remaining Kmart store in the U.S. in Miami, FL

But it operates in just the ~10K sq ft garden center of what had been a ~100K sq ft store (the rest of the space is occupied by home goods retailer At Home)

Retailers make the up the lion's share of re-tenanted former Kmart sites and include:

▪️ Tractor Supply $TSCO, Burlington $BURL and Hobby Lobby EACH operate >100 stores in parts of former Kmart properties that were demised to accommodate multiple tenants

▪️ Home Depot $HD has a store at ~80 former Kmart sites, Target $TGT now operates at ~60 ex-Kmart properties and Lowes $LOW, Kohls $KSS and Kroger $KR each have stores at ~50 former Kmart sites

Many former Kmarts have also been repurposed for non-retail adaptive reuses

▪️ >200 former Kmart properties are now used for self storage; U-Haul $UHAL has converted >115 alone

▪️~45 Kmart buildings have been converted into churches and 40+ into schools, career academies and vocational scenters

A number of sites have been redeveloped for health care, automotive and even residential use

There are "unconventional" adaptive reuses as well

Like the former Kmart in Traverse City, MI that was repurposed as a curling center!

Still while the vast majority of former Kmart properties have new uses several hundred sites remain vacant and available for repurpose or reuse in urban, suburban and rural markets throughout the U.S.

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

ICYMI: Walbridge weighs relocating its headquarters within downtown — or to the suburbs https://t.co/SQg2YZjs5T

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Real estate investors are snapping up Sheetz properties https://t.co/m0cxp9x93l

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Ask ANYTHING, you say?

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

The sign at the old Pasquale’s restaurant site on Woodward in Royal Oak getting mighty political

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Walbridge weighs relocating its headquarters within downtown — or to the suburbs https://t.co/SQg2YZjs5T

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

ICYMI: For sale: The entire former Siena Heights University campus in Adrian https://t.co/6ciRqVKLT4

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

@AriHeckman Went to the Sandwich Hut — twice

[Kirk Pinho @kirkpinhoCDB]

Providence is pretty cute